I saw a lot of excuses in the game day thread. Bradford out. Cook injury. Bad officiating. Blah blah blah

1. Yes, Bradford was out. But he is a below average starter and Keenum is an above average backup. So not a huge drop off. Also, he's always been injury prone. Since college. The Eagles' GM recognized this so drafted a QB early last year and dumped the injury prone Bradford and stole a 1st rounder. The Vikings' GM was desperate to salvage last season so traded a 1st rounder for a frail and injury prone QB to try to save his job. Now he is injured. Shocker. Advantage....Eagles' GM

2. Bad officiating. Yes, there were some blown calls, particularly missed PI calls. But if you listened to the announcers, this particular crew calls less PI than any crew in the NFL. Good coaching staffs watch film, recognize tendencies, and adjust game plan accordingly. Mediocre coaching staffs just do their thing and then whine about the officiating.

3. Injuries.... The Cook injury was brutal. It's devastating. Snake-bit franchise, what can I say? But the Lions had more injuries coming into this game than the Vikings. And they dealt with it, on the road. The Vikings on the other hand collapsed offensively, even with their "splash" signing stepping in at RB. He is terrible. Runs upright, goes down at 1st contact. He is terrible. Not sure what Rick saw to pay him $5 mil per year. Great pick with Cook, devastating loss today, but if Rick could have spent his $ wisely this offseason, the drop-off wouldn't have been so dramatic.

4. On the sack on goal to goal late in the 4th. WTF was Remmers doing??? Just horrible. How do you not at least attempt to block the DE lined up against you?? Not sure if that was coaching/scheme or if Remmers is just a moron, but that was absolutely brutal.

5. At this point, the best outcome for this season is a high draft pick next year, and Slick Rick and Zim getting fired. Sorry to say that and throw in the towel so early, but this team after the "rebuild" is mediocre at best. Time for the Wilfs to recognize this and move on.....

Sun Oct 01, 2017 5:27 pm

halfgiz

All Pro Elite Player

Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 11:38 pmPosts: 1707

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

Turnovers

Sun Oct 01, 2017 6:54 pm

HardcoreVikesFan

Hall of Famer

Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2006 6:28 pmPosts: 6614

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

As soon as Forbath missed the FG (after the announcers brought up how he was perfect lol) - I turned the game off. I knew what was coming - at least I managed to be productive the rest of the day haha.

Unfortunately, a lot of the same issues that plagued this team last year reared it's head again today: Inefficient defense on third down, horrible run defense, turnovers, and inefficient offense.

There was atrocious refereeing today - but we cannot use that as an excuse for why we lost. Our team was simply out-matched today. Plus, turning the ball over three times is never a recipe for a win.

Unfortunately, without above-average QB play we will not be much better than 8-8. Sam Bradford seemed poised for a big year - hopefully he can come back. Or hopefully Teddy can come back.

We might be riding Keenum for at least another week or two. NFC North games are tough enough - let alone when your team is down two high quality offensive starters.

_________________A Randy Moss fan for life. A Kevin Williams fan for life.

Sun Oct 01, 2017 7:22 pm

Hunter Morrow

Hall of Famer

Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:56 amPosts: 5631

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

Imagine you get told this at 8 in the morning...

"The Vikings hold the Lions to 300 total yards and do not allow 100 yards of rushing. They sack the Lions 6 times for 55 yards. Matthew Stafford fumbles and Prater misses a field goal and the Vikings hold the Lions to 14 points."

You'd have to expect a blowout victory for the Vikings, right?

The offense did not hold up to its end of the bargain at ALL, our place kicker is godawful again, McKinnon is a return liability and a mediocre at best running back and our promising rookie just got shelved for the season.

Sun Oct 01, 2017 7:29 pm

S197

Fenrir

Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:28 pmPosts: 10986Location: Hawaii

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

The difference between a win and loss today was a handful of plays. Even if you omit the injuries and bad officiating, a Forbath kick and Keenum throwing to Thielen in the end zone was enough for a win.

This game was going to be a battle, and it was. I guess people thought we were going to steamroll the Lions and that's why they're upset? I don't know.

Some of the reactions are truly puzzling.

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Sun Oct 01, 2017 8:41 pm

Pondering Her Percy

Hall of Fame Inductee

Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:38 amPosts: 4921Location: Watertown, NY

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

S197 wrote:

The difference between a win and loss today was a handful of plays. Even if you omit the injuries and bad officiating, a Forbath kick and Keenum throwing to Thielen in the end zone was enough for a win.

This game was going to be a battle, and it was. I guess people thought we were going to steamroll the Lions and that's why they're upset? I don't know.

Some of the reactions are truly puzzling.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

It's just ridiculous. It literally makes this board unenjoyable. After this loss, I've heard "fire Spielman", "fire Zimmer", "we gotta just hope for a high pick now" and "blow this thing up and start a full rebuild". Just some of the dumbest crap I've heard on here in a while. One friggen loss and this is how some in our fan base react. Just a absolute joke

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Sun Oct 01, 2017 8:50 pm

PurpleMustReign

Starting Wide Receiver

Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2005 5:48 pmPosts: 18250Location: Crystal, MN

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

S197 wrote:

The difference between a win and loss today was a handful of plays. Even if you omit the injuries and bad officiating, a Forbath kick and Keenum throwing to Thielen in the end zone was enough for a win.

This game was going to be a battle, and it was. I guess people thought we were going to steamroll the Lions and that's why they're upset? I don't know.

Some of the reactions are truly puzzling.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

The Lions won every aspect of the game. You can quote all the tlstats you want, but the Lions defense made plays when they had to. They got turnovers when they needed them. Their offense took advantage of the Vikings turnovers. They didn't miss any kicks, and they punted better than the Vikings.Most importantly, they were horribly out coached. It was horrific seeing Detroit a step ahead of us the entire game.

The difference between a win and loss today was a handful of plays. Even if you omit the injuries and bad officiating, a Forbath kick and Keenum throwing to Thielen in the end zone was enough for a win.

This game was going to be a battle, and it was. I guess people thought we were going to steamroll the Lions and that's why they're upset? I don't know.

Some of the reactions are truly puzzling.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

The Lions won every aspect of the game. You can quote all the tlstats you want, but the Lions defense made plays when they had to. They got turnovers when they needed them. Their offense took advantage of the Vikings turnovers. They didn't miss any kicks, and they punted better than the Vikings.Most importantly, they were horribly out coached. It was horrific seeing Detroit a step ahead of us the entire game.

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Plus, I am sick of being "a few plays" away from a win every week. When are they going to execute when they need it? When are they going to make a play when they need it?

The difference between a win and loss today was a handful of plays. Even if you omit the injuries and bad officiating, a Forbath kick and Keenum throwing to Thielen in the end zone was enough for a win.

This game was going to be a battle, and it was. I guess people thought we were going to steamroll the Lions and that's why they're upset? I don't know.

Some of the reactions are truly puzzling.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

The Lions won every aspect of the game. You can quote all the tlstats you want, but the Lions defense made plays when they had to. They got turnovers when they needed them. Their offense took advantage of the Vikings turnovers. They didn't miss any kicks, and they punted better than the Vikings.Most importantly, they were horribly out coached. It was horrific seeing Detroit a step ahead of us the entire game.

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Very well said

1. With the parity in he NFL a few plays is what makes the difference. Good, Well coached teams make them, the Vikings don't

2. It's ridiculous to speculate on the outcome with a few different plays in the 3rd and early 4th. The lions were the better team and had a good strategy. With a 7 point lead and their D in total control, they played more conservatively on offense. Had kai made the FG or Keenum hit thielen then the lions would have been aggressive on offense and likely would have scored more than 14. As it stood, their HC rightfully recognized that there was no need to score more points so they played conservatively .

Good teams make plays at key times. Poor team miss blocks, miss assignments, miss throws, miss tackles , fumble, etc. that's the difference . The lions have beaten us 3 in a row. That isn't a coincidence or bad luck. They are a more talented, better coached team. Period.

Sun Oct 01, 2017 9:08 pm

Pondering Her Percy

Hall of Fame Inductee

Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:38 amPosts: 4921Location: Watertown, NY

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

Where is this "playing conservative" talk even coming from?? Did you talk to Jim Caldwell? They werent playing conservative. Matt Stafford attempted 31 passes. We attempted 30 but the Lions were playing conservative?? They couldn't convert a third down to save their life. Our defense was playing that good. No coach in the right mind just settles for a 7 point lead the entire 2nd half of the game when they are on the road or even at home no less. But all you want to do is praise Detroits coaching and talk about how "well coached" this team is and how the Vikings are poorly coached. Well let me ask you how Detroits history has been lately??

Zimmer has been 7-9, 11-5, and 8-8

Caldwell has been 11-5, 7-9 and 9-7

Neither has had a playoff win. But yeah keep getting a hard on for this Detroit coaching staff Zim and Caldwell practically have the same record since they've taken over as a head coach. But Caldwell is a mastermind that played us "conservative" today and thats why he's a better coach

I swear some fans do everything they can to complain about this team when they lose. You did nothing but talk up Caldwell and how he's such a better coach than Zimmer but clearly you did no research to find out that Caldwell has done NOTHING Zimmer hasnt done. This is the stuff some of us are talking about on here that makes this board unenjoyable. Posts like this that have no validity to them, backing to them, proof of anything, etc. Just a frustrated fan that just tries to find fault in every little thing this team does. We didnt play well. We lost the game. We're playing with a damn backup QB. Either way, the sky isn't falling. Move on

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Sun Oct 01, 2017 9:45 pm

Husker Vike

Veteran

Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 11:35 pmPosts: 292

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

This board is so predictable, the wanna be GM's all come out of the woodwork and all they offer up is to fire every one. I believe that there are always going to be problems that come to the surface when you lose ,and it is perfectly fine to complain and vent, but to call for a complete dismantling from the top down is ludicrous.

Sun Oct 01, 2017 10:40 pm

J. Kapp 11

Hall of Famer

Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:57 pmPosts: 6853

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

VikingPaul73 wrote:

1. Yes, Bradford was out. But he is a below average starter and Keenum is an above average backup. So not a huge drop off.

You have GOT to be kidding.

Case Keenum is so much of a dropoff from Sam Bradford that it's not even debatable. Keenum is a backup because his accuracy sucks. He missed throw after throw today, and many of the throws he did connect on were the direct result of his receivers bailing him out. And the missed read on Adam Thielen for what should have been an easy touchdown was just ... inexcusable for an NFL quarterback with 27 starts. Chris Spielman nailed it with his analysis: "As a quarterback, you read deep to short. But Keenum read short to deep. If he looks deep first, it's a touchdown." Instead, he dumped to a back who got plastered, which then led to our idiot kicker clanking a field goal.

Bradford may have an injury history, but he's among the top 2-3 most accurate quarterbacks in the NFL, no matter the length of throw. If Sam Bradford plays today, we win. Period. We didn't need an epic Brady/Manning performance to beat these guys today. We only needed competence, which Case Keenum cannot deliver consistently.

_________________Go ahead. I dare you.Underestimate this man.

Sun Oct 01, 2017 11:06 pm

S197

Fenrir

Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:28 pmPosts: 10986Location: Hawaii

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

PurpleMustReign wrote:

S197 wrote:

The difference between a win and loss today was a handful of plays. Even if you omit the injuries and bad officiating, a Forbath kick and Keenum throwing to Thielen in the end zone was enough for a win.

This game was going to be a battle, and it was. I guess people thought we were going to steamroll the Lions and that's why they're upset? I don't know.

Some of the reactions are truly puzzling.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

The Lions won every aspect of the game. You can quote all the tlstats you want, but the Lions defense made plays when they had to. They got turnovers when they needed them. Their offense took advantage of the Vikings turnovers. They didn't miss any kicks, and they punted better than the Vikings.Most importantly, they were horribly out coached. It was horrific seeing Detroit a step ahead of us the entire game.

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Horribly out coached how? They won by 7 points. What exactly did you see that led you to that conclusion?

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Sun Oct 01, 2017 11:47 pm

808vikingsfan

Hall of Fame Candidate

Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:45 pmPosts: 3220Location: Hawaii

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

First. I think the Vikings need to replace Forbath

Except for all the missed tackles early, I thought the defense played well enough to win. They basically shutdown Detroit except for the first FG drive.

Frustrated with the offensive play calling all day. I mentioned this several times during the gameday thread but I would like to know why after very productive first down runs, they decided to pass on 2nd down almost exclusively. Detroit's 2 LBs were out. The Vikings were gashing the defense 4-6 yds at a time. Instead of running until DET stopped them, they decided to get cute/greedy and run play action on almost every 2nd down (seemed like every 2nd down). No reason to run that wildcat play at the time. No reason whatsoever.

Tough to lose Cook. I thought he (along with the improved OL) was the main reason this offense was so productive.

Also frustrated with Keenum. He was off today. Late on his reads, late on his move up in the pocket, and a lot of missed open receivers. Really thought he would've done better today. Which is why I thought they should've run Cook much more in the first half

I still think the Vikings have a solid team. If Bradford can come back for the Bears game and get Murray ready, they still have a very good chance to win the next two games.

Going to be rooting for Cook to make a full recovery and return to the team the way he left off. Guy is special.

Keenum missed a lot. That is why we lost the game. He missed theilen in the end zone twice.

Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:06 am

Pondering Her Percy

Hall of Fame Inductee

Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:38 amPosts: 4921Location: Watertown, NY

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

Norv Zimmer wrote:

Keenum missed a lot. That is why we lost the game. He missed theilen in the end zone twice.

That's why Treadwell being absent the last few games doesn't carry much weight because Keenum is in there. He threw a few deep balls to him but they were terrible throws

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Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:16 am

Norv Zimmer

Pro Bowl Elite Player

Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2014 7:21 pmPosts: 827

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

Pondering Her Percy wrote:

Norv Zimmer wrote:

Keenum missed a lot. That is why we lost the game. He missed theilen in the end zone twice.

That's why Treadwell being absent the last few games doesn't carry much weight because Keenum is in there. He threw a few deep balls to him but they were terrible throws

In the bucs game there were a lot of plays where treadwell had 1v1 coverage but Keenum never looked his way.

Mon Oct 02, 2017 8:35 am

FireSpieldope

Backup

Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2017 10:35 amPosts: 70

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

You guys pretty much nailed it. I'm still on the Zim train. Maybe I'm an idiot, but I think with a good QB he could be a winning coach. Problem is the person picking the players. Spieldope should have been fired last year after he went all in on Dumpford and the Vikes missed the playoffs. Why does Zygi accept losing? I guess he got his stadium, that's all he cared about.

Mon Oct 02, 2017 9:06 am

Cliff

Site Admin

Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2004 5:51 pmPosts: 8211Location: Kentucky

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

Missed opportunities is the big one. Those turnovers (3?) that we didn't complete would have been difference makers.

The loss of Cook is what hurts the most by far. This team just can't catch a break.

_________________"Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth." - Mike Tyson

Mon Oct 02, 2017 10:03 am

Pondering Her Percy

Hall of Fame Inductee

Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:38 amPosts: 4921Location: Watertown, NY

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

Cliff wrote:

Missed opportunities is the big one. Those turnovers (3?) that we didn't complete would have been difference makers.

The loss of Cook is what hurts the most by far. This team just can't catch a break.

Agreed. Looks like we're getting hit with the injury bug again. Not much you can really do. As a coach or a GM. These things arent avoidable. They just happen. Unfortunately they seem to happen to us much more often. It cant be Sendejo or Tom Johnson that get hurt. Someone that is easily replaceable. It has to be Teddy, AP, Bradford, Cook. Two years in a row now where we lost both our QB and RB. Whine and cry about Zim and Spielman all you want, that is just plain old bad luck

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Mon Oct 02, 2017 10:14 am

Norv Zimmer

Pro Bowl Elite Player

Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2014 7:21 pmPosts: 827

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

Pondering Her Percy wrote:

Cliff wrote:

Missed opportunities is the big one. Those turnovers (3?) that we didn't complete would have been difference makers.

The loss of Cook is what hurts the most by far. This team just can't catch a break.

Agreed. Looks like we're getting hit with the injury bug again. Not much you can really do. As a coach or a GM. These things arent avoidable. They just happen. Unfortunately they seem to happen to us much more often. It cant be Sendejo or Tom Johnson that get hurt. Someone that is easily replaceable. It has to be Teddy, AP, Bradford, Cook. Two years in a row now where we lost both our QB and RB. Whine and cry about Zim and Spielman all you want, that is just plain old bad luck

Agree, Zim and Speilman are not to blame. I also saw lots of peeps on twitter raging on Theilen for fumbling at the end of the game..... Cmon those people need to STFU IMO!

Mon Oct 02, 2017 10:21 am

Pondering Her Percy

Hall of Fame Inductee

Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:38 amPosts: 4921Location: Watertown, NY

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

Norv Zimmer wrote:

Pondering Her Percy wrote:

Cliff wrote:

Missed opportunities is the big one. Those turnovers (3?) that we didn't complete would have been difference makers.

The loss of Cook is what hurts the most by far. This team just can't catch a break.

Agreed. Looks like we're getting hit with the injury bug again. Not much you can really do. As a coach or a GM. These things arent avoidable. They just happen. Unfortunately they seem to happen to us much more often. It cant be Sendejo or Tom Johnson that get hurt. Someone that is easily replaceable. It has to be Teddy, AP, Bradford, Cook. Two years in a row now where we lost both our QB and RB. Whine and cry about Zim and Spielman all you want, that is just plain old bad luck

Agree, Zim and Speilman are not to blame. I also saw lots of peeps on twitter raging on Theilen for fumbling at the end of the game..... Cmon those people need to STFU IMO!

YES!! 100%. I just said this to my father the other day. Its not just our fan base but all fan bases. There are so many idiot fans out there it makes me sick. Thielens wife said last year after the Dallas game he was getting death threats. Like are you f***ing kidding me (excuse my language)?? As much as I hate Kalil and Walsh they got it terrible too. I always wonder if thats what forces these guys to spiral downward because of how hard the fans are on them. Granted you're a grown man and have to move past it but it's gotta be tough at the same time. No matter what happened, I would NEVER, EVER go after a player on social media. Its one of the most idiotic and cowardly things someone could do. No less send out death threats to them. I really just hate people sometimes

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Mon Oct 02, 2017 10:30 am

petev_sj

Veteran

Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 9:56 pmPosts: 213

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

Teddy Bridgewater out for season, none contact.

Sam Bradford out for 5 weeks, may be more, none contact?!?

Dalvin Cook. ACL end of season most likely, none contact.

I am almost convinced that some super natural force does not want this team to succeed. I know injuries happen in Football, but why always to the most important player at the most crucial time?

Oh well, back to the bottle.

Mon Oct 02, 2017 11:01 am

Norv Zimmer

Pro Bowl Elite Player

Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2014 7:21 pmPosts: 827

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

I wonder if something is wrong with the turf at US Bank Stadium. People seem to slip a lot, Cook seriously slips all the time.

Mon Oct 02, 2017 12:20 pm

Pondering Her Percy

Hall of Fame Inductee

Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:38 amPosts: 4921Location: Watertown, NY

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

petev_sj wrote:

Teddy Bridgewater out for season, none contact.

Sam Bradford out for 5 weeks, may be more, none contact?!?

Dalvin Cook. ACL end of season most likely, none contact.

I am almost convinced that some super natural force does not want this team to succeed. I know injuries happen in Football, but why always to the most important player at the most crucial time?

Oh well, back to the bottle.

Exactly it always seems like its the 1-2 guys we cant afford to lose. God forbid some scrub blows his knee out on this team

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Mon Oct 02, 2017 12:29 pm

mansquatch

Hall of Fame Candidate

Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:44 pmPosts: 3388Location: Coon Rapids, MN

Re: Week 4 reaction thread

Pondering Her Percy wrote:

petev_sj wrote:

Teddy Bridgewater out for season, none contact.

Sam Bradford out for 5 weeks, may be more, none contact?!?

Dalvin Cook. ACL end of season most likely, none contact.

I am almost convinced that some super natural force does not want this team to succeed. I know injuries happen in Football, but why always to the most important player at the most crucial time?

Oh well, back to the bottle.

Exactly it always seems like its the 1-2 guys we cant afford to lose. God forbid some scrub blows his knee out on this team

This pretty much sums up the season IMO. Add in the comment about the offense not able to hold up it's end of the bargain and that is it in a nutshell.

Kapp's comments on Bradford and dead on the money. We lost yesterday primarily because our QB couldn't make the plays that were there to be made.

_________________Winning is not a sometime thing it is an all of the time thing - Vince Lombardi